Understanding Animated Notation

Alternative notation approaches become more and more popular. Animated notation is one of them. It is popular mainly because it seems easy to apply. On the other hand, practice shows that classically trained musicians, composers and musicologists tend to reject or misunderstand this kind of music notation. Furthermore some musical performances based on animated notation should face the question whether a regular notation would not have been more efficient. As a researcher, performer and composer working with animated notation, I experienced that there is still a lack of knowledge and some misconceptions when it comes to animated notation, its advantages and its disadvantages and foremost its practical application. A brief look into the development of animated notation, actual fields of application, an attempt of a typology, an examination of the visual communication process and a closer look at two different animated score examples will shed a little light into the darkness and support utilizing this tool in contemporary music practice.